Caring for People
with Dementia Together

The Caring for People with Dementia Together (CPT) | 護腦同行 project is a cross-community partnership between Dementia Auckland, Age Concern Auckland, Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand Counties Manukau, The University of Auckland and Vagus centre. This project group has come together to blend their deep expertise with the shared vision of developing relevant and accessible services for Chinese people in New Zealand whose lives are affected by dementia.

The Dementia Economic Impact Report 2020 includes research findings that Asian people access existing dementia services the least of all ethnic groups because of factors such as lack of relevance and accessibility of resources, lack of awareness and stigma of dementia. These issue needs to be addressed urgently as the number of Asian people living with dementia is projected to more than triple from 4.8k in 2020 to 17.9k by 2040. As dementia has no cure, the person with dementia loses the ability to take care of themselves which becomes very stressful for families as they need to support their family member living with dementia. Local research tells us that Chinese people living with dementia and their families want to have culturally and linguistically appropriate dementia services.

To achieve better outcomes for Chinese people living with dementia and their families, priority needs to be placed on:

1. Increasing awareness within the Chinese community including the promotion of brain health to reduce the risk of dementia

2. Providing education and support for carers and families

3. Implementing a living well programme for Chinese people living with dementia